Healthy Fall Harvest Salad

The perfect salad for the fall season. Filled with healthy in-season produce and yummy flavors!

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If we’re talking strictly about food, Fall is by far my favorite time of the year. All of my favorite produce comes in season and it feels acceptable to go overboard on all things cinnamon and pumpkin spice. That’s why I’m in love with this Healthy Fall Harvest Salad!

You know that feeling where you eat a really healthy meal and after you eat you just feel all amazing and purified? Well, this will get you there. This salad is extremely clean and healthy, filled with tons of nourishing veggies and is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.

This salad involves delicata squash which is my favorite, but feel free to use butternut squash or any other squash variety if you prefer!

Important Step – Give Your Kale a Massage!

In this salad, and with any kale salad, massaging your kale with your hands is a very crucial step that must not be missed! It sounds a little funny, but kale is naturally very tough, and massaging it helps to soften it up and make it more edible.

To massage your kale, all you have to do is drizzle on a little bit of olive oil and add a pinch of sea salt, then use your hands to squeeze the kale for about 30 seconds to a minute, or until it’s nice and soft. This will change the texture dramatically!

Ingredients for Healthy Fall Harvest Salad:

Salad:

• Kale
• Delicata squash (or butternut squash if you prefer)
• Pomegranate seeds
• Pecans

Dressing:

• Olive oil
• Lemon
• Maple syrup (only a small amount just to add a little bit of sweetness)
• Salt + pepper

How to Make Healthy Fall Harvest Salad:

First, start by cooking the squash. Unlike cooking other squash varieties, when cooking delicata squash you can leave the skin on and eat it. Preheat the oven, wash the squash, chop off both ends and then chop it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, then chop it again into half rings or in whatever shape you prefer. Coat the delicata squash lightly in avocado oil (or other healthy oil), salt and pepper, and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven, flipping halfway.

While the squash is cooking, wash your bunch of kale and dry it. Rip off the leaves from the stems into pieces and put it in a large bowl. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and add a pinch of sea salt to the kale and massage.

Then cut open the pomegranate and scoop out the seeds (or just buy a container of pomegranate seeds!) and chop up the pecans. Once the squash is done, add all of the salad ingredients to a bowl.

Then finally just make the dressing by mixing the ingredients together. Pour on top of the salad, mix and serve!

Scroll down to get the full recipe or pin it for later!

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